Puratos, a leading manufacturer of ingredients for the bakery, confectionery and catering industries, has launched Breads of the World concept to meet growing consumer demand for different and new flavours. At the company’s R&D centre in India products are tailored according to Indian taste, value and functionality.
Said Dhiren Kanwar, Country Head, Puratos India, “This concept will enable supermarkets and bakery chains to create a wide and unique range of original taste, texture and shape as in the country of origin, from all over the world, using Puratos ready to use mixes. Every baker will be able to replicate the original taste, shape and texture of breads by following the recipe and instructions developed with local specialist bakers.”
Puratos India is a fully owned subsidiary of the Belgium-based Puratos Group, which is considered the world’s second largest Bakery Ingredients major. Established in 1919, Puratos Group has a turnover of 1.4 billion euro with sales in 100 countries and manufacturing plants in 55 locations around the world. In many cases, products are produced locally by subsidiaries.
With the Indian baked goods category consisting of largely unfragmented segment, the unpackaged/artisanal bread dominates the market with a share of 56%, while packaged industrial bread holds 44% share. Customers are now beginning to choose healthier bread options, a trend which is visible from the rapidly rising share of whole wheat and multigrain bread segment (6% in 2013-14), while brown bread carved out a healthy 11% market share, and white bread held steady at 81%.
Ethnic breads are more and more a key element of the bakery product lineup1. They are often made with locally-sourced ingredients and have become increasingly popular as they attract new customers to the bread counter. They also offer a greater choice of fresh and authentic breads. Although it’s exciting to discover local products, consumers often want trusted products from their home country.
Puratos India has adapted 2 varieties of breads to give customers a global experience: Easy Ciabatta is Italian bread originating from the province of Lombardy. The brainchild of ArnoldiCavaliari, it was Italy’s perfect response to the deep market penetration of the French baguette that threatened to monopolise the Italian sandwich industry. Easy Ciabatta is made from refined wheat flour and yeast; the soft bread can be used to make both vegetarian and non-vegetarian sandwiches.
The other is Easy Focaccia originating from the northern shores of the Mediterranean Sea. It is a flat bread that is cooked on a fire stove, and made of wheat flour and yeast and seasoned with olive oil. The dough can be flavoured with herbs like oregano and topped with Parmesan cheese. Both Ciabatta and Focaccia have a shelf life of six months.
Puratos offers a wide variety of innovative products from the multipurpose S 500 to the Tigris bread improver that allows artisan and industrial bread makers to maintain product standards irrespective of varying qualities of flour. The innovative S 500 Puff improves the quality of khari, puff and laminated pastry, the market of which had a retail value share of 24% in 2013.
Puratos India provides services across 3 verticals: Bakery, Patisserie and Chocolate. It has a strong focus on product innovation of bringing new varieties, new technologies and new types of products to customers in India. It has launched close to 75 products in a span of 5years in India and will continue to grow the portfolio.
